Seeing Jesus as Two Trump Supporters Loved Lil ol’ Liberal Me

My two best friends from church are in their eighties. Yesterday we took a road trip to a nearby town for a day of window shopping, lunch, and just catching up.

Like the town of Pagosa Springs itself, our church is friendly, warm, and quite conservative. When we first moved here I was shocked to see Girl Scouts auctioning off guns in front of Wal-Mart. We used to just sell cookies. Trump bumper stickers abound. In the sixteen months we’ve been here, I’ve only seen one vehicle with bumper stickers I could relate to: “I want my country back” and my adopted rallying cry: “The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing”- Edmund Burke. I wanted to find that pickup truck’s owner and just hug the stuffin’ out of them. I felt slightly less alone, way down here in the conservative corner of southwest Colorado.

Making friends at church was relatively easy, but as I spent time with these folks, I realized one thing: it was assumed that all Christians are conservative, Republican, and Trump supporters. This was new to me. After some thought and prayer, I started coming out of the closet as an unapologetic Jesus-loving liberal. Transparency is my middle name. I couldn’t let them believe I was something I am not. Also, it’s not conservatism I protest: it’s Captain Insano in the White House, and the Religious Right’s support of this decidedly non-Christian nut job.

As I revealed my lack of support for Trump, I found that almost everyone took the news in stride. And these two ladies, my shopping companions, never missed a beat. We’ve been able to get together for dinners and dominoes, studiously avoiding our differences. I am very grateful for them and their spouses.

Will Friendship Survive the Changes?

But now things are changing. With Trump becoming increasingly unhinged, the time has come for action. Fortunately, a friend pointed me in the direction of the Red Letter Christians. The red letters are a reference to the ink used to highlight the actual words of Jesus in many versions of the Holy Bible. Red Letter Christians, founded by Tony Campolo and Shane Claiborne, take the instructions of Christ quite literally and endeavor to carry out His commands. Since the policies of Donald Trump run almost completely contrary to the teachings of our Savior, I believe I have found a way to protest the hijacking of our faith. I am planning a Bible study of the Gospels, designed to draw attention away from Trump and towards Jesus. Simultaneously, I will be working towards launching a Red Letter Christians ministry here in our town.

Even though this decision comes after months of prayer, I was nervous about telling these friends. After all, I’m taking up arms against their side. This will be in the local paper. The church leadership may not appreciate my direction. While I have no doubt that I’m doing the right thing, I can’t bear to bring pain to these precious ladies who love me in spite of my leanings. I just had to tell them before they found out from someone else.

Friends

Mustering my meager courage, I poured it all out over lunch. I needn’t have worried. Despite our differences, these women are the real thing. They love like Jesus loved. When I told them that one person-only one- in our church reacted cruelly when I went public with my convictions, one of these ladies cried and the other narrowed her eyes in a terrifying manner. I could almost see the smoke coming out of her ears. She was ready to set the offender straight in short order, even though she agrees with them politically. Nobody was going to hurt her friend and get away with it. There is no way I will ever reveal the offender’s name, because this person wouldn’t live to see the morning. But for those moments, I felt loved by friends for the first time since we moved here over a year ago. And boy, did that feel good.

So here’s what I’ve been asking myself: Am I that good of a friend? Would I take up arms against someone who shares my own belief system in defense of a Trump supporter? Do I love as well as these women love?

Would I love as Jesus loves?

I’d like to say “yes,” and I believe I would. But it’s been a long time since I really saw Jesus, and yesterday I saw Him in two Trump supporters on behalf of this liberal. There may be hope for us all yet.